


route 39

by Blue_Sundays



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Buck Begins, Buck's Past, Cults, Firefam Feels, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Multi, Other, Past Drug Use
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-06-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:55:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24038494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blue_Sundays/pseuds/Blue_Sundays
Summary: It had not occurred to Buck, not in the heat of the moment, that for a single moment his past would ever collide with his life now. He had been ever so careful in curating Evan ‘Buck’ Buckley from the moment he’d stood in the arrivals at LAX; twenty-six years old; one month fresh from SEAL training and two years free of that dreaded ranch he’d called home for the last eight years.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley & Original Character(s)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 91





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> References to sexual scenes - not explicit but I feel like a warning is needed.
> 
> I read a book that was loosely based on the Charles Manson case and fell down a rabbit hole which lead me to write this.
> 
> Enjoy chapter one :)

**2020 May 6**

**Wednesday**

It had not occurred to Buck, not in the heat of the moment, that for a single moment his past would ever collide with his life now. He had been ever so careful in curating Evan ‘Buck’ Buckley from the moment he’d stood in the arrivals at LAX; twenty-six years old; one month fresh from SEAL training and two years free of that dreaded ranch he’d called home for the last eight years.

He’d grown from the naive little boy who’d ran away from home and found a family elsewhere and not for a single second did it occur to him that Johnny B. Castle would ever make a sudden reappearance - bringing memories of hastily wrapped spliffs, the smell of piss and sweaty bodies packed together in a crumbling ranch in São Paulo. 

Buck should have known when dispatch sent them to California State Penitentiary to triage stab wounds, broken bones and superficial cuts from a prison riot gone wrong, that they’d send Johnny back to California, keeping him in Wyoming would have been too convenient. He’d been in the midst of disinfecting a beefy tattooed man’s scrape when the crowd seemed to part like the Red Sea, and there in the centre stood the man who Buck had once called Father. 

In retrospect, five years did not seem like such a long time but even from the distance Buck could see that prison life had aged his former lover. Father’s skin sagged around his cheeks, yellowing and wrinkled. He’d put on weight and his hair,now salt and pepper grey, stuck out around his head like the man had stuck his finger in an electrical socket. He more closely resembled the cartoon-ish caricatures of a mad scientist rather than the pioneer that sixteen-year-old Evan had imprinted in his brain and spent his formative years worshipping. 

Father’s eyes bore into Buck, chilling and unforgiving as Buck sucked in a deep breath and turned back to his patient. He’d spent the last five years trying to forget life at Happy Ranch, trying to forget life with Johnny and even more so the events that transpired  _ that _ night.

As fate would have it, life in São Paulo would not be forgotten and Buck would soon remember why.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**2007 March 12**

**Monday**

Dad had been in Scottsdale with Sophia for two months now. They probably had a shiny new apartment set up and a fancy new air-con unit to keep them cool in the Arizona heat. He hadn’t called since he’d left and Evan was more than happy to let it stay that way. Mom had brought a new man into their shitty two bedroom unit every night this week and the thin walls rattled from the witching hour until the sun peeked through Hershey’s morning haze. The morning routine was always the same; shake the dust from his hair, ring Maddie and eventually give up from the lack of answer, and skip breakfast while Mom stumbled down the hall and her chosen lover would smack his gum and push Mum to her knees. 

She claimed her bruised knees and sore throat were the result of long hours in the garden tending to the Hydrangeas. They did not own Hydrangeas.

Today she’d decided to use his maths homework as a substitute for a joint and before noon had hit, Evan was out the door with a rucksack slung over his shoulder and a whole ninety-six dollars and fifty-four cents to his name. He’d planned to hit the intersection before it merged onto the Pennsylvania Route 39, thumb held high in their air in the hopes that someone would have pity and let him hitch a ride to Arizona. His dad was a dick but at least his apartment had actual food in the fridge and his new girlfriend was hot to look at.

If he’d have known that the beat up ‘66 Volkswagen Kombi would cause more trouble than it initially let on, Evan would have turned back and resigned himself to the unit with his junkie mum. But Johnny sat in the passenger seat and waved down at Evan as Specks, who sat in the driver’s seat, pulled the Kombi to the side of the road. 

‘You lost kid?’ A cigarette hung loosely from Johnny’s lips and despite Evan’s reservations against smoking, a ride was a ride. 

He’d told them that he wanted to make his way to Arizona but Johnny had warm eyes and a kind smile. It took a cheesy grin five minutes into the journey for Evan to accept a square of chocolate and decide to join Specks and Johnny on their way to São Paulo. They were two girls in the back with Evan; Suzy who ran her fingers through his hair and held his hand, and Alice who smacked her gum between her teeth and blew bubbles with the flavourless mass as she offered Evan a ‘gobby.’ The word sounded foreign but Evan quickly understood what she meant as she fingered the zipper on his jeans and leant down into his crotch.

Johnny barked out a laugh as he eyed them up in the rearview mirror.

‘My girls are well-trained.’ he’d said, palming the front of his jeans. 

Years later, Evan would lose sleep over the thought of Alice’s mouth and Johnny’s eager eyes, he’d berate himself for staying in the Kombi, for accepting their attention. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buck visits Johnny in prison. Twelve years earlier, Evan finds himself enchanted by the man in the Kombi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drug references.

**2020 May 10**

**Sunday**

Visiting was limited to half an hour blocks. Buck shivered as he was led through the prison corridors, the fluorescent lights flickering on and off - the harsh result of a lack of maintenance. The walls were bare and uniformed correctional officers eyed him suspiciously as he stepped through the metal detector and opened his mouth wide enough for an officer to roughly stick a cotton swab on the inside of it. 

He stood in a group of ten people, all of them with their eyes downcast and fingers looping into waistbands or fiddling with gold bands on their left index fingers. Conversation was a no-go and when they finally were led into a heavily guarded room Buck almost felt a sigh of relief come over him. Almost.

Johnny was handcuffed to a scratched wooden table in the far right corner of the room. He looked even worse up close and Buck felt bile rise up in his throat as he shakily made his way over to the man. With his fingers shaking as he pulled the stool out, Buck swallowed the sickly sludge back down his throat, holding back a gag as he did so. The stool scraped harshly against the floor and he cringed at the noise as it echoed loudly around the room. 

‘I always knew you’d come back to me.’ 

Johnny’s voice was silky smooth, like velvet caramel. Warmth washed over Buck’s body before he remembered that this wasn’t the same Johnny he’d idealised. Not anymore. The voice was the same but the mouth that spoke them most certainly wasn’t. Cracked lips and yellow teeth spoke them instead.

Buck willed himself to speak. To say something; anything. The words wouldn’t budge. Instead he could only stare at the calloused hands in chains that peeled wood chips off the desk.

Johnny spoke again.

‘Five years and you finally take the time to return to me, my love.’ Johnny reached forward, fingers itching slowly towards Buck’s hands. Buck suppressed a flinch but the movement was unnecessary as the chains reddened the skin of Johnny's wrists and pulled them back. The older man sighed and clicked his tongue before beaming at Buck. 

‘How are you, my love?’

‘I came to see how you are Johnny.’ Buck leaned back in the chair and turned his gaze towards a young looking correctional officer absentmindedly chewing a piece of gum. Johnny frowned and leaned forward.

‘Johnny?’

‘That’s your name, isn’t it?’

‘You always called me Father.’

‘I was naive.’

‘You’ve been blinded.’

Johnny’s hands clenched into tight fists, the skin whitening as he clenched them tighter and tighter. He banged them on the desk, chains rattling. The young correctional officer silenced them with a hush and a threat with his baton. Johnny bared his teeth at him, a feral sight that had the officer unintentionally stepping back against the wall. 

‘You’re not innocent in this my love, you know that, don’t you?’ Johnny smiled, his eyes gleamed nastily at Buck and before he had a chance to think about his actions Buck stood abruptly from the desk. 

‘Fuck you Johnny.’

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**2007 March 15**

**Thursday**

It took several days in the Kombi before they passed the border to South America and through to  São Paulo. Evan had the beginnings of a light stubble on his chin and yellow stains on the underarms of his once crisp white shirt. When they finally pulled into Happy Ranch, day had passed thrice and a dark dusk settled across the sky. They’d dumped the gear and grass before they hit the border and a sheen of sweat and the shakes had taken over the other occupants of the Kombi. 

‘Gotta think smart Evan.’ Johnny said, pointing to his temple and grinning maniacally at Evan as he sucked in one last drag and tossed the gear to the side of the road 

Johnny had spent the majority of the journey waxing poetics about politics and nature. His voice was passionate and loud as he passed a joint back and forth between Specks and the girls, and enthusiastically called out the sheeps of society. Evan had eaten it all up. Living freely and under the rules of one’s own self? Perfection.

There were around twenty of them at the ranch. Young girls and boys with long hair and calloused hands from tending to the horses on the ranch. They’d greeted Evan with sloppy kisses and warm hugs. 

Later that night, they’d set a fire in the fire pit and danced around to the sound of Specks singing to an out of tune guitar. Suzy passed him a haphazardly rolled joint and offered him another gobby. Evan refused this time preferring to take in the silhouettes dancing freely around the fire and shovel the plate of baked beans into his mouth. 

Hours later when the fire crackled down to its last embers, Evan would lean against Alice as she giggled into the crook of his neck and proclaimed him family. He’d catch Johnny’s eye and the way the poetic man smiled at him. Alice continued to giggle quietly next to him and run her fingers through Evan’s curls. When she’d finally slipped away into the crumbling house up the dirt driveway, Johnny beckoned Evan closer with a dirt-covered finger. 

Evan stumbled his way over to the older man and perched himself on the log next to him. Johnny pulled a pack of matches from his back pocket and re-lit the fire so that a soft orange glow emanated around the fire. It was just them two now. The others had retired to the house, lights flickered on and off from inside and Speck’s voice carried out from an open window. 

‘I speak for all of us when I say we’re glad you decided to join us Evan.’ Johnny whispered softly as he placed a hand on Evan’s knee. ‘Will you stay with us?’

His head was light and the edges of his vision grew fuzzy. Evan nodded and watched the way Johnny sucked on his bottom lip, the red skin pinched between the white of his teeth. Time seemed to slow down and their faces seemed to grow closer and closer. 

Johnny tasted like grass; sharp and smoky. His mouth was wet and salivary but Evan didn’t care as Johnny held his hand and cupped his face. When they finally stopped, Johnny rested his head against Evan’s and let out a soft giggle. 

‘You’re family now Evan.’

‘Thank you Johnny.’

Johnny snorted and ruffled Evan’s hair. ‘Call me Father, they all do.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know how you're all feeling about this so far :)
> 
> I picked up on a few mistakes in chapter one which I'm hoping to rectify in the next couple of days.
> 
> Comments feed the writer :)


	3. chaoter three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The worst thing was that Johnny was right. Buck wasn’t innocent. He could claim heroism by jumping head first into fires and pulling people out of hydroplaned cars but nothing could cancel out all the bad shit he’d done in São Paulo. Nothing would ever cancel out that night five years ago. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drug references  
> Implied sexual acts - non explicit.

**2020 May 11**

**Monday**

Seeing Johnny again had rattled Buck. He’d expected the cold gaze and a gaunt, frail looking man to greet; he had not anticipated that Johnny would so easily accept that Buck would return to him, especially after what he’d done to Johnny - to everyone at the ranch. 

The interaction had kept him up all night, tossing and turning until the sun peeked through the clouds and Buck’s alarm had rang out. He’d chosen the wrong day to visit Johnny and Buck silently berated himself as he walked into the station and held back a yawn. A twenty-four hour shift lay ahead of him and Buck was already picturing the sweet quietness of his apartment; Bobby’s cooking be damned. Almost on cue, Bobby rounded the corner of the ladder truck and Buck nearly knocked the older man down, too in his thoughts to see him coming. 

‘You okay Buck?’ Bobby frowned and looked at the younger man up and down.

‘Yeah, good to go cap.’

Buck forced a smile and ignored the way Bobby’s brows furrowed together. He was fine. Johnny B. Castle wasn’t going to ruin his life any more than he had already.

*

His hands had shook all day and he was sure that the tremors had not escaped Hen’s keen eyes. She had yet to say anything to Buck about his obvious restlessness but her eyes glazed over with concern each time he let out an unintentional sigh or tapped his fingers to an unfamiliar pattern on a tabletop. Calls had been frequent throughout the day, ranging from superficial head wounds to a multi-vehicle crash on the highway. 

Needless to say by the time they’d settled down Buck’s mind was full to bursting with Johnny’s cold gaze and bony hands. Johnny’s words echoed in Buck’s head like a broken record player.

_You’re not innocent in this._

The worst thing was that Johnny was right. Buck wasn’t innocent. He could claim heroism by jumping head first into fires and pulling people out of hydroplaned cars but nothing could cancel out all the bad shit he’d done in São Paulo. Nothing would ever cancel out that night five years ago. 

‘Okay, are you sure you’re okay Buckaroo?’ Bobby’s voice pulled Buck out of his thoughts and the captain sat down on the coffee table to face him. Buck pondered for a moment. Should he tell him? Should he tell the team about Johnny? He agonised over the thought, willing himself to ignore the way Hen, Chim and Eddie had scooted themselves closer to the conversation.

‘I’m sure, cap.’ Buck said eventually. He risked a glance at the team, each of them displaying small frowns on their faces. Of course they didn’t believe him. 

Buck wrung his hands out, fingers idly fiddling with the thin, pale skin on the back of his hand. He sucked in a quiet breath and plastered a wide smile to his face.

‘Guys, I’m fine.’

  
  


**2020 May 12**

**Tuesday**

He’d been content to let himself believe the words he’d uttered all throughout his shift. But now he sat alone in his car outside his apartment complex. His shift was done and dusted. Buck’s bones ached deep in his body and he groaned at the way the muscles pinched tight as he moved his arms.

Still, he refused to move from the car. He wanted nothing more than the comfort of his own bed, to feel the heavy weight of the comforter hug him and the cool air of the fan wash over him; the loose blades rattling a lullaby. 

Instead, he held his phone in his hand and willed his fingers not to shake as he dialled those three dreaded numbers.

‘9-1-1, what’s your emergency?’

‘I’d like to report a criminal.’

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**2008 Sometime in June**

**Probably a Wednesday**

Over a year had passed since Evan had arrived at Happy Ranch and his seventeenth birthday had been and gone. He’d grown taller in the year he’d been at the ranch, his hair long enough to reach the nape of his neck and the curls wild, unruly. He’d tanned too, his body balancing precariously between lean from working on the ranch and skinny from rationed meals. 

Father did not believe in big food shops and meals three times a day; so Evan and Suzy would take fortnightly trips to the outlying towns and scavenge the skips outside restaurants. Fresh cuts of meat and salads were a popular choice even if they stunk sometimes. Suzy liked to bike to the supermarkets and pull tin cans from shopping trolleys in the car park, she and Evan had devised a system where one of them would fall in front of the unsuspecting victim while the other would load a canvas bag with everything they could fit in it. Father had tried to grow a veggie patch to keep them going but São Paulo had had a particularly hot summer and the patch had died before the veggies had a chance to spout from the ground. 

Sometimes, when Suzy was knee deep in a skip, Evan would sneak off to a telephone booth on a nondescript corner. He had a 10 centavos coin tied to a piece of string, that he’d found out in the street one day, and he’d use it to call Maddie. She rarely ever answered. And when she did Doug’s voice would interrupt their short conversation and before Evan had had the chance to tell her that he was in Brazil, she would end up slamming the phone down. 

There was no television at the ranch, Father had an old wireless radio that they would all gather around at the end of the day. Instead they spent their days tending to horses and milking the cows. They had a grass patch somewhere in one of the greenhouses but Evan hadn’t quite proven himself worthy enough to tend to the green leaves yet. Evan was content to do the hard work - mowing, seeding, cleaning. Besides, tending the grass meant going out with Specks on excursions to sell it off in one of the towns. Last time he’d gone down, Specks had lost Mandy to the Polícia. They’d mourned her loss of course and no sooner than that did Father appoint Alice to go with Specks the week after.

They’d smoke the grass a lot. Days blended together more often than not and sometimes, when Father would introduce a new friend to them, he would let the group indulge on something he called ‘Yellow Sunshine.’ Evan wasn’t quite sure what the little white pill was but it made the world pop in bright colours, and his arms would grow long and wriggly in front of his eyes. On those nights, all twenty of them would cuddle together inside Father’s room. They’d strip down to their skin and become a mass of tangled limbs. 

Father called it love. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter to go! What are we thinking so far?
> 
> Comments feed the writer :)


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tonight was different. Evan wasn’t sure whether it was the concoction of drugs they’d all but inhaled before ten p.m. or the way the air seemed to burst with electricity; the hair stood up straight all over his body and his heart thrummed in his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter to go after this!!!
> 
> Sorry it took a while to get this one up. University's a bitch and I'm the asshole that decided to go back and get another degree. None-the-less I hope you enjoy this one :)
> 
> Fair warning there are some brief mentions of sex but nothing too explicit.

**2013 July 7**

**Sunday**

Evan was twenty-four now. He’d grown to over 6ft and if food wasn’t so scarce on the ranch he’d be much bulkier than they were. As it was his skin clung to his bones, thin pale despite the constant sun. Father had been acting stranger and stranger in the last couple of years. He’d let his hair grow down past his hips and the mania in his eyes seemed to grow as each day passed. Evan hadn’t been Father’s favourite in a while; not since he’d finally told Maddie his whereabouts and she’d threatened to call the police until Doug stepped in. No, Evan and Suzy had been tossed to the side like ragdolls and Father hadn’t loved them since Nonda came and went. 

They’d yet to recover from Nonda’s exit - she’d arrived six months ago at eighteen and quickly became Father’s new play pet. Long brunette hair and limbs that were long and tanned. She sang around the campfire for all of them but sometimes, in the dead of night, Evan would hear her sing softly to Father as he buried his face between her thighs. But no sooner had she arrived she took off again, claiming that they were all blinded by Father’s love, that sex and drugs were not substitutes for family.

Father had not touched anyone since and Evan missed the way Father would run his fingers through his curls as Evan’s lips wrapped around him. The man he had come to love had shut himself away in the caravan near the far edge of the ranch; only appearing with a bottle in one hand and a plastic plate in the other for leftovers. When Evan joined Happy Ranch eight years ago he’d never anticipate that petty violence would escalate beyond that. He’d never factored in that anyone would under Father’s skin quite like Nonda did. 

Tonight was different. Evan wasn’t sure whether it was the concoction of drugs they’d all but inhaled before ten p.m. or the way the air seemed to burst with electricity; the hair stood up straight all over his body and his heart thrummed in his chest.

Something was coming.

  
  


**2020 May 13**

**Wednesday**

The call comes around 9am, just in time for the start of Bobby’s shift. He’s running late today; LA traffic will forever be the bane of his existence. By the time he pulls up to the station he’s the last one there bar Buck. He’s not worried. Not yet anyway. Traffic around Buck’s apartment is always hectic so Bobby gives the kid a little bit of leeway - although he’d never let him know. 

He’s got the eggs boiling in a pan and the team all laughing and joking with each other around the table when the call comes through. Athena’s name glows from the phone and he feels his heart swell at the sight of her name. 

‘Hey -’

‘Bobby why is our kid handcuffed to a chair in an interrogation room?’

‘Buck’s what?’

‘He’s down at the station in an interrogation room. I don’t know what for but I think you need to come. It looks serious.’

‘Ath-’

She’s gone before he can finish shouting her name. He looks across to the team, where the Hen’s resting a hand on Eddie’s shoulder and Chim’s brows are furrowed tightly.

‘Is everything okay Bobby?’ Hen says.

‘Buck’s at the station.’

  
  


*

‘Nonda James-Dehewlitt. A missing persons report was filed on July 8th, 2013. She hasn’t been found since.’ Athena hands a picture of a brown-haired girl over to him as he sits at her desk. 

‘What does Buck have to do with her?’

Athena sighs and runs a hand across her forehead. Bobby always admired how his wife managed to stay so calm and collected in everything she did but right now the lines in her face seemed deeper than usual and she looks at him with dejected eyes.

‘Buck claims to have been there the night she was murdered.’

‘That’s not possible.’

Athena says nothing as she ruffles through papers on her desk and pulls out freshly printed pages all neatly stapled together. She clears her throat.

‘Evan Buckley dropped out of Millview High School in 2007. He was last seen crossing the border to South America. In 2013 a cult that resided on a ranch in  São Paulo was stormed and fifteen members were arrested after a food truck heist went wrong. Frank B. Castle, the cult leader, was charged with first degree murder after fatally stabbing the driver. Evan Buckley, 24, was released without charges. Ranch was shut down.’

‘Shit.’

‘Yeah. Shit.’

  
  
  


*

Detective Reyes was decidedly not a large man. He was short and round; and his beady eyes were sharp enough to make Buck want to look anywhere else.He stared Buck down. Hard. Detective Reyes leaned heavily against the desk and licked his lips.

‘Tell me again, Mr Buckley. What happened to Nonda James-Dehewlitt?’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter to go! Let me know how you feel about this so far!


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suzy was the only one who really knew what Father wanted and she’d sworn to keep her mouth shut unless giving directions to their target.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter references sexual assault and murder - this is not explicit or necessarily graphic but if you feel uncomfortable please click off.
> 
> Thanks for waiting so long for the final chapter! It took me a while to complete because I'm back to working full time and studying full time.  
> :)

**2013 July 8**

**Sunday**

  
  


There were four of them. Suzy curled up in the front seat of the Kombi while Specks drove; Evan and Alice took up the back smoking the place out with a hastily rolled spliff. Music echoed loudly and tinnily from the speakers. Father had given them an address and a knife each. 

‘Take care of my business, children.’ he’d said, grinning maniacally. 

Evan wondered idly what the business might be. They’d been known to raid stores before, maybe scare a couple of the locals into giving them their credit cards. Suzy was the only one who really knew what Father wanted and she’d sworn to keep her mouth shut unless giving directions to their target. Evan would be lying if he said he wasn’t jealous that Father had put his faith in Suzy. He shook his head and sucked in a deep breath, the bitter air of the joint tickled the back of his throat as he breathed it down, he trusted her to no end though and being jealous was wrong. 

The drive was long. Three hours of long winding roads and the occasional beeping horn. Around half way through they stopped for gas at a gas station and Suzy insisted on filling up the jerry can. Maybe they were going to set a building on fire? They’d never done something like that yet and Evan hoped that whatever building it was, it was empty. Suzy handed Evan an old credit card and pulled the spliff from his mouth.

‘Go make yourself useful.’ she laughed as she sucked the joint between her lips and fingered her bra straps. 

A bell jingled as the door squeaked open and a small asain woman looked up from the counter. Evan picked up two packets of Extra Peppermint Gum, four cans of V and four glazed Krispy Kremes and sauntered his way over to the counter. The woman eyed him warily as she scanned his items; she watched him like she knew exactly what was about to go down. Evan forced a smile on his face as he handed her the card.

$15.46 with the fuel included. 

Alice cheered at the sight of doughnuts when he arrived back at the Kombi, instantly grabbing the box from his hands and pulling it out, grinning as she held them up to her breasts.

‘Hungry?’ she asked Evan.

*

When they finally arrived it was in front of an old two story house. The paint was peeling in thick strips of red. Evan didn’t recognise it. Nothing about the house seemed worthy of spending their time on it. Not the rotting wooden beams, not the Ford Escort with the flat tyre on the driveway nor the pink bicycle propped up at the front door.

‘Are we sure we’re at the right place?’ Evan asked as he looked out the window. His heart pounded unceremoniously in his chest.

‘I sure fucking hope so,’ Suzy said, grinning as she pulled out a rusted chef’s knife.

‘So what are we doing at this shithole?’ Alice asked, leaning forward and reaching out for Suzy’s knife. Suzy hissed and pulled the knife back before Alice could touch it.

‘Burn the witch.’ she said dissolving into manic laughter. ‘Burn the witch. Burn the witch. Burn that stupid fucking witch!’

*

She’d been sleeping in a tiny twin bed with moth eaten sheets when they’d found her in the back downstairs bedroom. Brunette hair splayed out around her like a halo and her skin seemingly glowing under the pale moonlight. She could’ve been sleeping beauty.

‘We’re just going to push her around a little bit aren’t we?’ Evan asked, an uneasy feeling swirled in his stomach as he looked back at his three companions.

‘Sure Evan.’ Specks chimed in and smiled at him. ‘We’re just gonna show her a little message.’

Nonda shuffled ever so slightly in her bed and Specks, who normally hung back as the driver, surged forward unbuckling his pants as he did so. Evan jumped up and tried to grab Specks’ shirt but Suzy and Alice were too fast, and the girls pinned him down to the floor.

‘The witch needs to be taught a lesson Evan.’ Alice hissed in his ear.

She’d screamed at first. It was bloodcurdling; so loud that Evan’s ears rang. Then it was almost as if she’d accepted what was happening as she went silent. The bed squeaked and slammed against the wall. It echoed around the house. Reverebarted in Evan’s ears. Evan pushed and pushed against the weight of the girls but the girls pushed back even harder. 

Specks roared quickly and suddenly, and Nonda sniffled as she lay tangled in the bedsheets. Suzy giggled loudly and before Evan had time to react as her weight shifted she’d slammed the butt of her knife into the back of his skull.

‘Let’s paint this room red.’ was the last thing he heard before his eyes fell shut.

  
  


*

He’d woken up in the back of the Kombi several hours later with a banging headache and a rolled up rug next to him. A foul smell emitted from the rug; something akin to a steak far too well done. Bile rose up in Evan’s throat but he forced the liquid back down, they’d do the same to him if he tried anything now. 

‘Why?’ he said as he leaned over the back of the seat to where Alice lay across with one hand down her pants. Suzy, who had taken her place in the passenger seat leaned around.

‘Father knows what’s best.’

  
  


**2020 May 13**

**Wednesday**

  
  


Detective Reyes stared down at the young man in front of him. Evan Buckley squirmed in his seat and Reyes suppressed a sigh as the man’s bottom lip trembled.

‘I won’t ask again, where is Nonda?’ Reyes slammed his hands down on the table for good measure, that oughta get it out of him.

‘Itupararanga Dam, Sorocaba. We got rid of the body there.’ Evan whispered eventually.

‘You said you tried to stop them from killing her and yet you helped them get rid of her body. Why?’ 

Evan Buckley stared down at his hands and fiddled with the silver chains that kept him cuffed to the table.

‘It was me or her, Detective.’ the man said as he choked on a sob. ‘And I chose me.’

  
  


Detective Reyes held back a grimace. This was going to be a tough one. He looked at the man once more, trembling in his seat and without tingling twice he rested a hand on his shoulder.

‘There will be a trial. There will be consequences but rest assured Mr Buckley you did the right thing by coming forward.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed! I purposefully left Buck's fate ambiguous but I'm curious to know what you think should happen? Should Buck be punished or should he be set free? Let me know in the comments!
> 
> Once again, thanks for reading! More stories to come soon <3

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think so far. 
> 
> Comments feed the writer :)


End file.
